Title: VP of Marketing
Company: Key Code Media
Location: Los Angeles
Overtime: When not living and breathing his digital marketing campaigns, he is an extremely active outdoorsman who scales walls in Yosemite Valley and hikes long alpine routes like Mount Whitney.
Why You Need to Know Him: As the VP of marketing for Key Code Media, McClain is redefining how the Pro AV industry connects with its clients.
Having deduced that traditional trade shows are becoming more expensive while drawing fewer qualified attendees, Matt McClain has successfully shifted his company's promotional focus toward digital-first, educational marketing. “We're at this point where we need to educate and we need to come to you in a convenient manner,” he said.
The results speak for themselves: By launching early-to-market initiatives like the Broadcast2Post podcast and the original PostNAB Roadshow, he has helped Key Code Media grow from a $30 million post-production integrator into a $100 million AV and broadcast powerhouse with around 200 employees.
McClain’s Pro AV career began shortly after college when he became executive assistant to Key Code Media's founder, Mike Cavanagh. Even in that entry-level position, he was immersed in the company's marketing efforts. “From Day One, I was involved in the grunt work of operating marketing events and trade shows for the company,” he recalled.
That early exposure to marketing fueled McClain’s passion for AV technology and the high-profile manufacturers behind it. “I got to be honest, I am a sucker for brands,” he said. “I kind of geeked out at the chance to work with these brands that I'd grown up with and known—and actually throw successful business-to-business events with.”
This enthusiasm motivated McClain to co-found the industry's first PostNAB Roadshow. Now in its 12th year, the successful roadshow takes about 40 manufacturers on a multi-city tour immediately following the massive NAB Show in Las Vegas.
To boost his skills in marketing and learn more about metrics, analysis, and messaging, McClain earned an MBA at Pepperdine University. He also left Key Code Media for a time to work as a marketing manager for the former production rental giant VER. While there, he executed a rebrand that drove a 30% increase in business.
Matt McClain’s work ethic and integrity are legendary. Consider this: On his final day at Key Code, he was still recording videos and running a pre-NAB panel discussion past 10:00 p.m.
“I am one of those crazy people that just works long days, late hours,” McClain said. “I feel really passionate about my company, about this industry, and trying to hopefully do good work that doesn't come off as salesy or marketing—but really is a leadership position where we're helping the community just better understand technology.”
Lured back to Key Code Media in 2018 as director of marketing, McClain got into digital outreach. “I very quickly launched the Broadcast2Post podcast in 2018, when everyone else got into podcasts in 2020,” he said. Today, the channel boasts 6,000 YouTube subscribers and draws thousands of live attendees each year.
Looking ahead, McClain remains fascinated by Pro AV’s ongoing evolution. He loves the fact that it's "constantly changing and that I'm always having to constantly learn.”
As for the rest of his career? McClain recently completed the buildout of a dedicated podcast studio at Key Code's headquarters, and he is exploring ways to expand the Broadcast2Post podcast to weekly programming, bringing even more industry leaders into the conversation.
He is also focused on staying at the forefront of AI in media and marketing, developing educational resources for the industry—while building internal workflows that leverage AI tools to drive efficiency, scale content production, and enhance team performance.
